Ring casting dividing machine



.Apr il 17, 1945. H M OL N 2,373,907

RING CASTING DIVIDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet l lnuentor Lg; HoHB M. O\son v Tfqrnz April 17, 1945. H. OLSON I 2,373 907 RING CAST ING DIVIDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9, 1943 .3 Sheets-Sheet 2 \nuenfor B HoHgM. O|son #W April 17, 1945.

H. M. OLSON RING CASTING DIVIDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9, 1943 i 26/ I gl? 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lnuenfof Y HolMP'LOlson Patented Apr.. 17, 1 945 UNITED STATE S PATENT OFFICE RING CASTING DIVID'IN G Holly M. Olson Muskegon, Sealed Power Corporation; corporation of Michigan Mich assignor to Muskegon, Micln, a

' Application December 9, 1943, Serial No. 513,602

The present practical machine for splitting or dividing double width ring castings to produce from each cast-' ingtwo individual ring castings from each of which'a piston ring may be made.

and carbon composition which wheneng'aged by the tools used in finishing the castings to piston rings injured the tools and in most cases resulted in.a destroying of the casting so far as it'suse- I fulness was concerned in getting a proper piston ring therefrom. By producing a ring castingof double width, that is, double the vertical dimension of a finished ring, plus allowance's for shrink'-, body of metal'could" age and machining,'a heavier be cast avoiding such defects in castings and by invention relates to a noveland an electric; motor 4,

machine; by means of belts 5 which drive a short e- Claims. (01. 29-70) is mounted, the end 3 ofthe shaft of which is adapted to engage'with and drive one end of a saw carrying arbor. The shaft is driven from mounted at the end of the worm shaft 6, suitable reduction gearing being housed within the housing 1 between'the shafts 6 and 3. Adjacent the opposite end of the-machine is a bracket 8'which has similarity to a lathe tail stock in themannenof engaging one end of anrarbor 9; the other end of which is detachably connected with the shaft 3 and is driven thereby. In thelengthof the arbor 9 a plurality of pairs of metal cutting saws l0 are mounted in any suitable manner, the pairs .of saws being spaced short distances. from each other, as indicated in Fig. 1.

A b'ack rest ll may beused between the ends of a plurality of spaced .openings 5 dividing such castings midway between their sides two uniform homogeneous ring castings were attained from each ring casting.

In thepresent invention it and. purpose to split, or divide the double width ring castings, in a very rapid and expeditious manner to obtain a. high quantityfproductionand correspondingly reduce the cost of piston ring manufacture. the machine apparatus illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which, 7 1

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a my invention.

Fig. 2 is an end Fig. 3 is a vertical elevation thereof.

part of one-of the ring casting holding units, a

machine embodying transverse section through the machine, enlarged over the view shownin is a primary object housing the ,arbor 9 to bear against and hold the arbor imparted through from springing under pressure their ring casting the' lsaws l0 .while engaged in' Toward what may a machine the upper side of the. housing I has l2 of rectangular form, through each of which a ring casting carrying' unit extendsthe're being oneof such units for. eachof the'pairs of saws l0 on the arbor, four being shown in the drawings. The units are mounted upon a fixed horizontal cylindrical rod l3 mounted onand below the upper side of the i I I and are loose thereon for rocking moveen a ou ai generally vertical member I, at a side of which a sector I5 is fastened or cast therewith extending downwardly from the rod l3 andat its lower edge This primaryobject is attained by carrying an are shaped gear segment IS. The

units may be mounted upon the rod l3 and held 'a gainst sidewise movement thereon by suitable collars l1 clamped to said rod.

At the upper end of each part 3a ring casting carrying shaft is mounted. In a ed for rotation in suitable housing is integral with andat the upper end of the member I4 9. horizontal shaft I9 is mountbearings on which shaft a worm wheel 20 is keyed (Fig. 4). The

shaft 19 at one end has a circular flanged face 2| plurality of which are used, the section being substantially upon'the broken plane 4 4 of Fig.

5 looking in the direction indicated, and

Fig. 5 is a vertical section substantiallyon the plane of line 5-5 of Fig. 4Q

Like reference characters in the different figures of the drawings.

Upon the machine frame or housmg'l at one end and at its upper sidea suitable head stock 2 refer to like parts cated having" a coming against the adjacent vertical side of the housing l8. Against said face a disk 22 is losleeve hub 23 centrally thereof which extends. into a cylindrical recess in the I The disk 22 is secured to the shaft 19 by screws '24. Spaced from the disk 22 an outer head 25 is located between which and the disk 22' a plurality of guide blocks 26 are placed and all areconnected and held together by means be termed the front side of rod, said units include each a l4 ofeach unit,

of screws 21 which pass through the parts 25 and 26 and screw into the disk 22.

A plurality of expanding jaws 28 having arcuate toothed outer faces, each of said faces being divided between opposite sides b groove 28a (Fig. 4), are mounted by means of inwardly extending stems 29 guided between the guide blocks 26 (Fig. The jaws 28 and their stems 29 are located side at their inner ends are 3!), as shown in Fig. 4. Y

The shaft I9 is longitudinally bored and through it a shaft 3| is passed and mounted for rotation having a wheel 32 at one end with the usual radial openings bored in its periphery for the entrance of a rod or. handle for turning the shaft 3|. The shaft where it passes through the disk 22 and it hub 23 and the outer head 25 is provided with two spaced sections 33 and 34 which are oppositely threaded, on which interiorly threaded sleeves 35 and 3B are located, their adjacent inner ends having conical surfaces to engage against the beveled portions 30. The sleeves 35 and '36 are keyed, respectively, to the hub 23 and the member 25 and are thus held from rotation. It is evident that on turning the shaft 3| in one direction the members 35 and 36 are separated longitudinally from and when rotated in the opposite direction are brought toward each other, engaging the beveled surfaces 30 on the jaw members and forcing them simultaneously outward. The ring castings 31 two of which may be placed over the jaws when they are in retracted position, are engaged by the toothed outer are shaped faces thereof on V such outward movement andare firmly held in width ring place thereon. Two of the double castings 31 are thus securely held against each other at adjacent sides with the inner ring casting against the face of the disk 22.

The housing at I 8 has a forward housing portion 18a in which a vertical shaft is mounted having a worm 39 thereon engaging with the worm wheel 20. Below said housing portion I811 a clutch member 40 is secured to the shaft 38. A vertical housing 4| is cast integral withthe member l4. through which a vertical shaft 42 extends at its upper end carrying a cooperating clutch jaw 43, associated with which is a collar engaged by a yoke on a lever 44 pivotally mounted between its ends on member I and normally acted upon by a tension spring 45 to bring the two clutch members 43 and 40 into engagement with each other. From the lever M. two fingers 46 and 41 extend. as shown in Fig. 3 for purposes which will be later described.

A substantially vertical telescoping shaft 48 is connected at .its upper end by a universal joint 49 with the lower end of the shaft 42. At its lower end it is connected by a universal joint 50 with a short shaft 5| on which a worm gear 52 is secured in engagement with a worm 53 which is mounted on a shaft 56 which extends the length of the housing I of the machine, there being four of the worms 53 and wormgears 52 in the machine, one for'each of the ring casting holding units, four in number in the machine. Shaft 56 may be driven by means of a belt 51 from the motor 4 which goes around a driven pulley 58 on a shaft 59, said shaft 59 through suitable reduction gearing such as a worm and a worm gear, housed within the the housing at Bil (Fig. 2) driving the shaft 56. With thi double reduction it is evident that by side in pairs and said stems of each pair oppositely beveled as at each other the shafts I9 of the ring casting holding units are driven at a low speed.

Cylinders 6|, one for each of the four units are secured at the rear side of the machine. In each a piston 62 is mounted for reciprocation and is connected with a piston rod 63 which extends into the housing of the machine. At it outer end the piston rod 63 is connected with a rack bar 64 mounted for reciprocating movement between guide rollers 65 and BB and provided with rack teeth at its upper edge in engagement with the teeth l6.

Each of the cylinders BI is supplied with compressed air alternately at opposite ends thereof.

The air is carried from a reservoir or other source of compressed air by a pipe 61 to a valve housing 68 in which a valve is located, the movement of which will control the passage of air through the branch pipes 69 and 70 to the opposite ends of the cylinders 6!. The valve in the housing 68 i operated by an arm I! connected at one end thereto and at its opposite end being slotted for a distance and having a pin and slot connection with the lower end portion of a vertical bar or rod 12, the upper end of which is pivotally connected to an arm 13 extending from a horizontal rock shaft 14 mounted on the housing I of the machine and at its forward end in front of the housing being equipped with a hand lever 15 for manual operation. It is evident that on turning the handle 15 in one direction the arm H may be turned upwardly from the position which it occupies in Fig. 3, thereupon directing the air to the cylinder 6| through the branch pipe 69, the arm H in its lower position as shown positioning the air control valve for air to pass through the pipe 10 to the front end of the cylinder.

Directly below the lower end of the bar or rod 12a solenoid 16 is mounted on the housing support of the machine and n armature 11 therefor i connected to the lower end of the rod 12. The passing of current through the solenoid winding causes -thearmature to be moved in a downward direction and swing the valve controlling arm 11 to its down position, as in Fig. 3. Wires of the solenoid circuit are indicated as carried in a cable 18 leading from the solenoid 16 to a switch 19 having an operating presser member which switch is mounted on a curved arm 8! fastened to or integral with the member l4. Therefore, when a ring casting carrying unit swings about the aXis of the rod at 3, the switch is moved upwardly or downwardly dependent upon the direction of movement of the unit, being carried upwardly when the unit is swung so as to move ring castings 31 toward the saw 10.

In the upper side of the housing support I and at the front of each of the ring casting carrying units, a vertical screw 82 is mounted having a head 83 at its lower end and a wheel 84 at its up per end for manual operation. On the swing of a ring carrying casting unit far enough in a counter-clockwise direction (Fig. 3) the member 80 comes against the head 83, closing the switch of the solenoid circuit and thereby energizing the solenoid and pulling the armature 11. to its lower position. It is also evident that on the return movement of a ring carrying casting unit and a swing thereof in a clockwise direction, the

finger at 46 on the lever 44 engages againstv a projection 85 at the front of the opening I2 through which the unit extends, disconnecting upon-shafts- 38 and is stop in movement. But as soon as the movement of the ring casting carrying unit is in the opposite direction, moving ngers awa from the projection 85, spring will-bring the two clutch members 40 and 43 into.

engagement.

A bracket 86 is secured to a fixed portion of" the supporting frame of the machine to which a inder 81 is permanently connected (Fig. 3).

piston rod 88 extending forwardly out of the cylcyl- I Said cylinder has a piston therein (not shown) and a.

inder, the free end of which is threaded to receive spaced nuts 89. An arm 90' isconnected to the rack bar 64, extendingdownwardly to said rod 88, and has an opening through which the rod passes, one of said nuts '89 being at one side of t I Assuming a ring carrying casting unit to bein upper casting carrying arbor of the unit atis farthermost position away from the splitting saws in, the shaft 19' and the parts connected therewith are at rest. Two of the ring castings 31 the retracted jaw 28 against are placed over sleeves 35 and 36 toward each other to engage inner curved'sides of the ring castings 31.v After this is done the operator swings the handle-1'5 of compressed air through the pipe 69 to the cyl-' inder 6]. Compressed air engaging against the Fig. 3, rocking the unitand moving'the ring cast lugs 31 rapidly toward the pair of splitting saws l whichare directly backof the castings. Before the castings come to said splitting saws the arm-90 will'come against the outermost nut 89 on the rod 88, whereupon the compressedair will be required to move said piston rod 88'and the piston connected-thereto whichis within the cylinder 81. Such movement will be controlled by the passage of the oil from the front mold the siredposition. Therefore, shortly before the saws engage with the castings the movement'ofthe castings toward said saws will be reduced to the slow movement desired and the continued moveand until the castings have beensawed through and divided into the two parts desired.

When the castings have been completely divided and the edges of the saws are received in the have been elevated to bring the switch operating member 80 against the under side of the head 83. It is evident that the head Birwill have been adjusted tothe desired position to cause such switch the position shown in Fig. 3, that is, with the with and expand'the jaws outwardly against the directly in front of the ring casting carrying-unit to vertical position moving the arm H for passage 7 cylinder 81 to its rear end through the pipe all and past the control valve governed by the arm I 92. Such control valve is initially set at a' do ment of the castings toward and into engage ment with the saws will be at such slowspeed grooves 28a (Fig; 4) ofthe, jaws 28, arm 8| will closingwhen the ring castings have been sawed entirely through. Closure of the switch energizesthe solenoid at 16 and a movement'ofthe armature 11' to its lower position asqin Fig. 3

with a corresponding movement of the valve con- I trol mm H, compressed air thereupon being carried through the pipe 10 into the forward end of I, cylinder 6 I. This causes a return movement of piston 52 and the rack bar 64 with an accompanying clockwise movement of the ring casting carrying unit to the position shown in Fig. 3.

.The movement from a position in which the ring castingshave been-split or divided to the position shown in Fig.3 is initially rapidor while the arm 90 is moving away from the outer nut at 89 until it engages the innernu-t 89, whereupon there is the same checking and thereafter slow movement as occurred when the ring castings were moved toward and closely adjacent to the splitting saws. Such return movement continues until the piston 62 reaches the outer end of the cylinder 6|.

degree by a valve, the position of which each other and one against the face of thedisk 22 (Fig. 4). The shaft. 3| is turned to move the When this has happened the finger will have engaged its associated projection 85'and disconnected" the'clutch-members .40 and 43, stopping rotation of the shaft 19 and the parts associated therewith including the split .or divided castings; The operator thereupon releases theholding jaws 28, the divided castings are moved laterally over the head at 25 and allowed to roll down the incline at .94 (Fig. 3) to any suitable receptacle. Such-unit is thereupon ready to receive another pair of ring castings to be split or divided with a repetition of the cycle of operations described.

If at any time it is desired tov stop the rotation of saidqshaft l9 and the parts associated therewithfingerfl may be manually engaged to separate the clutchmembers l0 and 43.

piston 62 moves thepiston rod. 63 andv rack bar 64 in a forward direction, that is, to the right in" It is evident from the construction and operation' described thatthe worker attending the machirie will release the split castings from. a unit which is in the position shownin Fig. 3 or at the left in Fig. 1, move'the split castings off from the unit and replace them by two ring castings to be split, swing the arm 15 associated with such unit to a. vertical position and move on to the next unit, which has-completed its ring casting split- A ting cycle to do the same things there. The operation of the machine otherwise is automatic.

With the machine as described a very, rapid splitting or dividing of the ring castings is attained with high quantity production. In practice one attendant can readily take care of two of the machines, each of which has four of the ring casting splitting units thereon, so that fourteen castings are being simultaneously split or dividedv at various stages of splitting, that is, seven-of the unitsareworking while one is be ing unloaded and reloaded,

It is also'conceived that this machine may be used for splitting so-called sleeve castings which are ring shaped castings of sufficient length I claim:

from which to out several piston rings. When so used the sleeve casting is clamped upon the jaws J28 and against the disk 22 with its surplus length projecting away from the disk 22 and the saws ID will cut a'pair of rings from the casting near one end. ,Then those rings which have been out on are removed and the remainder of the ring castingv is moved up against the disk 22 and clamped by the jaws 28and the process repeated.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

1. In a construction of the character described,

a horizontal arbor having a plurality of saws thereon spaced short distances from each other, means for continuously driving said arbor, a ring casting carrying unit comprising, a substantially vertical support mounted between its ends below said arbor to turn about a horizontal axis whereby said unit may be swung at its upper portion toward said saws and away therefrom, means engaging with the lower end of said unit for rocking the unit about said horizontal axis a predetermined distance toward said saws and thereafter reverse the movement and carry the unit away from the saws, ring casting carrying means at the upper end of said vertical sup-port including a plurality of series of outwardly and inwardly movable jaws around each of which series of jaws a ring casting is adapted to be placed, manually operable means for moving said jaws outwardly to engage against the inner sides of said ring castings to hold them in firm connection with said shaft to turn therewith, means for driving said ring casting carrying means to rotate the castings, and means for automatically disconnecting the driving means therefrom upon swinging movement of the unit to carry the ring castings away, said disconnection occurring at a predetermined distance away of said unit from said saws.

2. In a ring casting holding mechanism, a movably mounted support adapted to move toward and away from ring casting dividing cutters, said support including a housing, a rotatably mounted shaft extending through said housing and at one end having an annular flange bearing against an adjacent side of the housing, said shaft at said end thereof having a cylindrical recess at its central portion, a disk secured to said flange and provided with a central hub extending into said recess, guide blocks spaced from each other located against the disk, an outer head located against the outer guide blocks, means passing through said head and guide blocks and connecting with the disks for securing said disks, guide blocks and head together, said outer head having a central cylindrical opening therethrough,

, arc shaped jaws each having a radially inwardly extending stem located around said jaws, said stems extending between adjacent blocks, a rotatable rod passing axially through said shaft, said rod within said hub and within the opening of said outer head having oppositely threaded sections, interiorly threaded sleeves provided at their adjacent ends with annular conical surfaces mounted on said threaded sections,.said sleeves being keyed respectively to said hub and said head and said stems at their inner ends having beveled portions bearing against the conical surfaces of the sleeves.

- 3. In a machine of the classdescribed, a support, a horizontal supporting rod extending therethrough, a ring carrying casting unit mounted for rocking movement on said rod and having parts extending above and below the rod,

' a horizontal shaft mounted at the upper end of;

v said unit in one direction and away therefrom when swung in the opposite direction, a reciprocating rack bar located below the lower end of said unit, gear teeth at the lower end of said unit engaging said rack bar, means for moving said rack bar in opposite directions, manually operable means for causing said means to move the rackbar to carry ring castings toward and into engagement with said saws and means for automatically reversing the movement of said rack bar moving means when the saws have cut through said castings, as specified.

l. A construction containing the elements in combination defined in claim 3, combined with means for driving the ring casting carrying shaft and means for automatically disconnecting said driving means therefrom on movement of the unit to carry the ring castings which have been divided by said saws away therefrom a predeternnined distance.

5. In a construction of the class described, a support, a horizontal rod fixed on said support, a ring casting carrying unit mounted on said rod for rocking movement, a part of said unit extending below and a part above the rod, ring casting carrying means at the upper end of said unit including a rotatable shaft, means for releasably securing a plurality of ring castings on said shaft to turn therewith, means for driving the shaft, means for rocking said unit a predetermined distance about the axis of said rod, rotating saws to which the ring castings are brought and with which they engage on the movement thereof in said direction, means for automatically reversing said movement when the ring castings have been sawed into parts to carry the upper part of said unit and the divided castings away from the saws, means for driving the shaft of said unit, and means for disconnecting the driving means therefrom on movement of the upper part of the unit a predetermined distance away from said saws.

6. A construction containing the elements in combinationdefined in claim 5, said shaft and said unit normally being at rest when located substantially at said predetermined distance away from said saws, means for manually controlling and starting in operation the means for moving the unit to carry ring castings toward and into engagement with said saws, and means for automatically reversing said movement after the saws have .cut through the ring castingsto thereby move the upper part of the unit and the divided ring castings carried thereby away from the saws;

HOLLY M. OLSON. 

